Immunity & Inflammation

Scientists discover new gatekeeper cell in the brain

Ghent, 12 February 2026 – VIB and Ghent University researchers have identified and characterized a previously unknown cellular barrier in the brain, which sheds new light on how the brain is protected from the rest of the body. In a study published in Nature Neuroscience, the scientists also reveal a new pathway by which the immune system can impact the brain.

Researchers develop more reliable platform to test antibody medicines

Ghent, 30 January 2026 – An international research consortium has validated a new platform that could change how antibody medicines are tested and brought to patients. The work, published in Science Immunology, highlights problems during conventional antibody drug testing and introduces a next-generation mouse model that makes it possible to predict the effects of antibody drugs in humans more accurately.

Key lung immune cells can intensify allergic reactions

New research by scientists at VIB and UGent reveals that immune cells in the lung, long thought to protect against inflammation, can, under certain conditions, make allergic reactions such as asthma worse. Their work appears in the journal Immunity.

RSV vaccines could offer protection against asthma

Ghent, November 28, 2025 – Belgian scientists from VIB and Ghent University (UGent), together with Danish collaborators, have uncovered compelling evidence that early-infancy infection with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) significantly increases the risk of developing childhood asthma—especially in children with a family history of allergy or asthma. Their study, published today in Science Immunology, suggests that protecting newborns against RSV could substantially reduce asthma cases later in life.

Psoriasis-linked gene mutation also impacts gut health 

VIB researchers and colleagues uncover an unexpected role for psoriasis-associated gene CARD14 in intestinal function and disease. 

Scientists map dendritic cell reactions to vaccines 

Ghent, 26 August 2025 – Belgian scientists have uncovered new details about how the immune system responds to vaccines. Dendritic cells, which are key immune messengers that help kick-start the body’s defenses, show specific responses to lipid nanoparticles. These findings, published in Cell Reports, could lead to safer and more effective vaccines.  

Spectacular Breakthrough in Sepsis Research: Vitamin B1 Stops Deadly Lactate Production and Opens the Door to a New Treatment

Specific types of liver immune cells are required to deal with injury

Liver immune cells are not static following an injury, as previously thought, but they adapt to the new microenvironment and participate in tissue repair

Therapeutic potential of a novel mixture of mRNA in nanoparticles overcomes tumor progression  

Researchers from VIB, VUB, Ghent University, and eTheRNA Immunotherapies developed an immunotherapeutic platform based on lipid-based nanoparticles (LNPs)

Scientists discover how specific E. coli bacteria drive colon cancer

Certain E. coli bacteria in the gut promote colon cancer by binding to intestinal cells and releasing a DNA-damaging toxin

Repeated COVID vaccines enhance mucosal immunity against the virus

People who received multiple doses of mRNA vaccines showed more neutralizing antibodies in nasal secretions

Cells that die during inflammation send wound-healing messages 

A study by the team of Prof. Kodi Ravichandran (VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research) and colleagues found that pyroptosis, a form of programmed cell death traditionally thought to be purely inflammatory, also plays a crucial role in promoting healing and tissue repair. This research, published in Nature, opens new avenues for understanding how our bodies respond to injury and could lead to innovative treatments for wounds and inflammatory diseases.